Fall storm whips into Western Washington

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SEATTLE — Utility crews are on stand-by across the state as the winds have been picking up speed all afternoon.

Seattle Department of Transportation crews have also been working all day clearing leaves from storm drains to prevent flooding. Armed with leaf blowers and a giant hose, crews are trying to get as many leaves off the streets as possible.

“Herding them into a pile and sucking them up,” said Kim Rhodes with the Seattle Department of Transportation. “It just takes longer when it’s wet.”

Last weekend’s winds toppled trees all over and knocked out power to thousands. Hopefully, things won’t get that bad this time.

“We’re anticipating that there could be some small, scattered outages,” said Scott Thomsen with Seattle City Light. “Our crews are ready to respond if they’re needed.”

Families are urged to keep a stash of candles and check the batteries in their flashlights before the power flickers.

“This year moved straight from summer right into stormy conditions,” said Thomsen. “The long-term forecasts indicate we could have heavy continued storms into the winter.”

Puget Sound Energy is still working to get around 2,000 customers reconnected after an outage on Bainbridge Island.